How it all started
by AWriterOfSomeThings
Summary: This is the story of how a small family came to be. This is how it all started... before it tragically ended.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, here's a nice little short story. It'll probably be about 4-5 chapters in length. I guess I should state my goal with this story real quick. My goal is to hurt each and every one of you readers by the very end. You know, in an emotional kind of way. Anyways, I do hope you all enjoy this work!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any characters that exist therein. I find the need for a disclaimer for any story on FF unnecessary, as it is literally called fanfiction. Yet, I will continue to put them in my stories, not because I find it necessary, but because I want to. This is, of course, due to reasons that I** ** _do_** **own.**

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She was going to do it. She, Summer Rose, was definitely going to do it. Tonight was the night Summer would finally do it. She was finally going to tell him.

Using the word, 'finally', makes it sound like she had known for awhile, but she actually found out about it not too long ago herself. She had only known for about a week or two. Still, she didn't tell him about it. She hid behind the excuse, 'It's not the right time', but in reality, the real reason was because she was afraid to tell him. She was afraid to tell him because... she wasn't sure how he would take the news. No, that's not true. She did have an idea about how he would take it.

Even if she didn't tell him, it was something he would eventually find out. It was almost impossible not to notice if given a bit more time. Well, in most cases that was true, and she was quite likely one of those "most cases". She would have to tell him eventually, the alternative was he figured it out on his own, and if that happened, he would be quite upset at her for keeping it from him. Besides, he had a right to know. It would be wrong if she kept it from him. She _had_ to reveal it tonight.

She was walking down the hall, on her way back to their apartment. Within the city of Vale, the two of them lived inside one of those small, cute apartments. They didn't mind that it was small, it was after all, just the two of them. And it was a rather cozy home.

The layout was as follows; as soon as you opened the door and walked in, you would be in the small square kitchen. There was no wall separating the kitchen from the living room straight ahead. Of course, since the kitchen was a square room, and the living room was a rectangular one, there was still a corner to turn once you entered the living area.

Now, turning that corner immediately after entering, you would see a narrow hall straight ahead. In the middle of that hall, you would find to your left, a door leading to the decent sized bathroom. At the end of the hall, you would find another door, this one leading to their bedroom.

And that was the layout of their small apartment. There was of course, a closet located in their bedroom, just in case you were wondering.

But where the apartment really shined was the beautiful view. The back wall was more window than it was wall. If you stood right in front of it, from about the hip down it was a wall, everything above that was window. It gave them a beautiful view overlooking the city. And at night, when all the lights down there were ignited, she thought the view was magical. There were curtains to allow privacy when desired, although, with how high up they were, it was pretty much impossible to see into their room unless you were trying to. Which, there were undoubtedly some people like that out there.

Now, concerning the furniture they owned, they didn't own much as they hardly ever entertained any guests. As such, they had one three person sofa, its back to the left side wall. Said sofa wasn't pushed against the wall, but rather sat a few feet off center of the living area. They also had two chairs that sat with their back to the window wall. Likewise, these two chairs rested a few feet off center of the living area. These two chairs were set side by side with a small round table sitting between them. On said table, was a small lamp. In the center of the living area, was a small coffee table. And on the right side wall, directly to the left of the narrow hall, a television set was mounted. Even though they owned one, they hardly ever watched anything.

In the kitchen were two chairs and a small round table. Just enough room for the two of them to sit at. There was also a stove/oven, a refrigerator, and a sink, as well as some cabinets and drawers for storage of plates and silverware. These all rested along the right side wall.

And that was their home.

She stood at the door right outside their small apartment, preparing herself for what was to come. He was most likely already in there, as she had told him she had something very important to discuss with him.

She took in a deep breath, held it for moment, then let it out. She grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and pushed the door open.

She saw him sitting on one of the chairs in the kitchen. As soon as he heard the door open, he raised his head to look at her, her returning his stare. They both stayed frozen for a moment, holding each others gaze. As soon as everything registered, he stood up and quickly moved over to her.

"Are you alright? Did something happen?"

His crimson eyes stared into her silver ones, and she could see the concern in them. He was genuinely worried about her well being. In that moment, she almost thought about backing out. But she couldn't. She had to tell him.

"Qrow," She smiled softly, "I'm pregnant."

His face scrunched in confusion at her words.

"You..."

His brain was still registering the information it was given.

"You're..."

And then it finally clicked in his head. His eyes went wide as he started to tremble.

"Wha... y-you... you're... you're pregnant!?"

She was still smiling, hoping if she smiled it would be enough to keep him calm. Hoping that her smile would be enough to keep him...

"Yes," she said with a nod.

"B-but how!?" His tone started to become angry. "W-we were careful! How could this happen!"

"Qrow, it's alright!" She tried to reassure him.

"No!" he shouted, slamming his fist onto the table, "It's not alright!"

"Qrow..." She placed a hand on his shoulder. He gently knocked it off as he turned away from her.

He began to pace back and forth, resting his face in his hands. And that was when she lost her smile, realizing it wasn't enough. She looked down, subconsciously bringing her fists over her heart, as if holding them there would lessen the pain it was feeling.

"Qrow..." she whispered.

"Get out," he said calmly, keeping his back to her.

"W-what?"

"I said get out."

"Qrow..." She reached out a hand toward him.

"Get out!" he shouted harshly.

Her eyes went wide, tears threatening to spill out. She turned around, opened the door, and ran out, slamming the door behind her.

She ran out of the building. She ran down the street. She just ran. Running was all she could do.

Time. He just needed some time. That's what she kept telling herself as she ran, praying she was right. But...

She went back to the apartment three hours later. But inside, Qrow was nowhere to be found. Instead, on the kitchen table, there was a letter sealed in an envelope.

She picked the envelope up. On the front was written, _Summer_. Her heart began to ache again. She knew what this was. She turned the envelope over, ripping it open. She pulled the letter out, unfolded it, and started reading. As she read, the tears she held back finally started to fall.

 _Summer,_

 _I'm sorry to hurt you like this, but our relationship must now end. You should know just as well as I do that it's far safer for the both of you to be away from me. I only bring misfortune to anyone involved with me, whether they're friend or foe. No matter who they are. Even if it's lover... or family. I was selfish to get involved with you in the first place. I knew it wasn't safe for you, but I did so anyway. For that, I apologize._

 _It was like a dream, to be able to love you. But all dreams must come to an end at some point. Knowing we were going to have a child, that was what woke me up. I could never forgive myself if anything were to happen to either of you because of me. And so I woke up. I do wish I could still live within this dream for a little while longer, but I cannot. I've been sleeping long enough already._

 _I'm sorry to do this to you Summer. Please, hate me. That will make it easier for you. Hate me._

 _~Qrow._

Hate him? How could she possibly hate him?

She loosened her grasp on the letter, allowing it to fall onto the floor.

The world, for her, began to spin. It spun too fast, causing her to fall to her knees in her dizziness. She placed her hands on the ground beneath her to keep her steady. There was a knot in her stomach and a heavy ache in her heart.

"I don't hate you..." she whispered. "I love you."

She fell onto her side, holding her fists against her heart, trying to suppress the pain. But she couldn't.

"How can you expect me to hate you so easily?" she whispered, tears running down her face.

The rest of the night she just lay there on her side. Crying, and crying, and crying, until she fell asleep.

All her dreams that night... were of...

* * *

 **A/N: So? Were you all expecting it to be Qrow? I'm sure a lot of you saw it coming. This actually comes from a thought I had when I was trying to fall asleep. Well, it was actually several thoughts. You see, I believe Qrow had feelings for Summer, I'm sure a lot of people believe the same as well. That popped into my head while I was trying to sleep. Then I thought, I bet people also believe he's Ruby's biological father. I then thought, well, if Qrow did get Summer pregnant, maybe he would push her away because the misfortune thing would probably make her miscarry. Or it could make them both die during childbirth. I don't believe Qrow fathered any child of Summer's, nor do I believe they ever had a relationship. I only think he had feelings for her. But I thought that those thoughts I had would make for a good story. So naturally, I began to write the story in my head till I fell asleep (sometimes I write in my head when I'm trying to fall asleep). When I woke up, I started writing the story for real. And now we end up here.**

 **Again, I don't think anything ever happened between Qrow and Summer in canon. But I do think Qrow had feelings for Summer in canon. I just wrote them having a relationship because I thought it would make a good story. So why did I repeat my thoughts about Qrow and Summer? Well, if they reveal in the show that Qrow had feelings for her, and I say I knew it all along, no one will believe me. But if I make it known before the reveal, all you guys will know that I actually did suspect it!**

 **Anyways, for all of you interested in this story, next chapter goes up next week.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Nothing much to say really... Thank you guys for the favs and follows! Much appreciated!**

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"I still miss him, Tai." Summer said, resting her head against his chest.

They were sitting on a couch in the living area of his cabin, baby Yang playing in the middle of the room.

"I know," he whispered, trying his best to comfort her. "I know how bad it hurts."

He was surprised when he saw her at his door. That surprise quickly turned to concern when he saw tears streaming out of her red and puffy eyes. He invited her in, the both of them taking a seat on the couch.

She just sat there in silence. He wasn't going to push her to talk. He wasn't going to make her tell him what was going on. No, he knew she would tell him what was going on when she was ready. Right now, she just needed someone to be with her. Right now, she just didn't want to be alone...

He placed a hand on her back, doing his best to comfort her. They only stayed like this for a few minutes, but those minutes felt like hours.

She turned her head to him, staring into his eyes. Then she shoved her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around his body. He was caught off guard at the sudden action, but after a few moments, he wrapped his arms around her, placing one hand on her back and the other against the back of her head.

His shirt had gotten wet from her tears, but he didn't mind that. His friend was in pain, and even though he may not have known why, that was what mattered. She needed him to comfort her, and he hoped he could do just that.

After crying into his chest for a few minutes, she told him what happened. How she was pregnant. How she was hopeful things would turn out well. How Qrow took the news. How she ran as fast as she could, praying everything would be alright. And finally, how he was gone.

"I'm sorry to bother you with this, Tai." she said softly.

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her off of him. He looked straight into her eyes and said.

"Don't you dare apologize about this." Her eyes went wide at his unexpected words. "Don't ever apologize to me for things like this. We're friends. Friends help each other out in these moments. Just like you helped me when Raven left."

"Thank you." She gave him a small smile, and he returned her smile with his own.

His grip on her shoulders loosened. She leaned her body against his, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, hugging her close to him. He hoped he was comforting her.

Baby Yang suddenly stood up, bringing both of their attention to her. Yang turned around and stared at the two of them. Baby Yang was wearing nothing but a diaper and an orange short sleeved shirt. The shirt, however, was a little small. As such, her chubby little belly was popping out.

She waddled over to them. When she arrived in front of them, she placed both her hands on Summer's lap.

"Hello little Yang." Summer smiled. Baby Yang gave a little giggle at Summer's greeting, soliciting a chuckle from the two adults.

Tai picked her up and placed her on his and Summer's lap. Yang looked at Summer with a big smile on her face, causing Summer to give her a bright smile in response.

"Mm... Mmm..." Yang tried to say something.

"What is it?" Summer asked gently.

"Mmmm..."

"Come on Yang, you can say it." Summer encouraged her.

"Mmmaa... Ma... Ma... Mmmaaaamma!"

Summer's eye widened at hearing that. She looked over to Tai. He was watching Yang with a sad smile.

"No, Yang," he said, her name bringing her attention to him. "Mom's gone."

He turned his head to Summer, staring into her eyes and saying.

"They're both gone."

Summer rested her head on his shoulder again, and he rested his head against her's. The both of them trying to comfort each other.

Baby Yang watched the two of them with a puzzled look on her face. She didn't know what was going on, but she could sense the both of them were sad. So she leaned forward and gave them both a hug. The both of them couldn't help letting out a small chuckle at her actions as they hugged her back.

After a few moments, Yang pulled away from them. She stared at their faces trying to figure out if they were still sad or not. At seeing them smiling at her, she smiled back, letting out a small giggle.

"Thank you little Yang." Summer said.

Yang made a little noise as a reply.

Yang then tried to slide off of their laps. Not wanting her to fall and get hurt, Tai helped her off. Once on the ground, she went back to the middle of the room where she had been playing earlier.

The two watched her playing for a few moments, before Summer suddenly spoke up.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Tai."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I don't know how I'm going to raise this child alone. I've never taken care of a child before, I don't know what to do!"

He looked away, trying to think of a solution to her problem. No, he already had a solution, he was just afraid to say it. He didn't want to make the atmosphere awkward with his solution.

"I don't know how I'm going to do this alone..."

But when she said that, he knew he had to suggest it.

"Then don't raise the child alone," he muttered. His voice was just barely clear enough for her to make out the words.

"Huh?" She turned her head to him. She stared at his face, trying to figure out the meaning of his words.

He looked away from her, nervously scratching his cheek as he explained.

"I've raised Yang alone all this time. So... why don't you move in with us? I'll help you take care of the child."

Her eyes went wide at his offer.

"Tai, I couldn't put you through that trouble."

"You wouldn't be any trouble. I think... it would be nice for Yang to have someone around. Someone who could fill a motherly role... And your child too. I think it would be nice for them to have a father figure in their life. I think it would be nice for our children to have... a family."

"Tai..."

"Ah... what am I saying!?" He gave an awkward chuckle. "Of course that's a weird thing to suggest."

"Tai," She placed a hand on his arm, causing him to fix his gaze on it for a few seconds, before he turned to her, nervous of what she might say. "I think that's a wonderful idea."

"Y-you do?"

"Yes," she affirmed, "I want my child to have a father in their life." She looked at Yang. "And a big sister. I want my child to have a family."

She looked at him and smiled. He smiled back.

"Then it's decided... We'll be a family. For our children."

She nodded, "For our children."

When they said they were going to be a family, they didn't just mean Summer moving in with him. No, they wanted their children to have an actual family. Not just a father figure or a mother figure. No, they wanted their children to actually experience what it was to have a family. Thus, not long after that day, the two of them wed.

They would give their children a family. Their children would never have to know that their parents were in a loveless marriage. The only people who would ever know that much, were the two of them. But such a thing didn't affect them, for, even though they were married, even though they would play the part of a married couple, in each others eyes, they were nothing more than friends.

This was how it all began.

This was the beginning of their family.

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 **A/N: The end! I hope you all enjoyed this short story! Especially how it ended. Yup, the story is over now. The end. Finished. All done. Yay! Nah, I'm just kidding. There's still more to come!**

 **Now I'm sure there are some of you who don't like the way this chapter ends. I'm talking about the whole marriage thing, and the deceiving their children thing. And some other things. Well, I'm not really sure what to say to you guys. The two of them want their kids to have an actual family.**

 **Also, I hope my saying, "actual family", isn't taken offensively. You all know what I mean by that. It is not meant to offend anyone. I just don't have any other way of saying it.**

 **Some of you are probably displeased at how quickly she agreed to move in. And displeased at how fast some of these things happened. I, again, don't know what to say to you guys. I know things are moving quite fast, but this is just how the story was envisioned.**

 **And regarding their marriage, if any of you are thinking this, no, they aren't going to be unhappy in their marriage. I tried to explain it at the end, but if some of you guys don't quite get it, I'll try explaining it better here. So basically, even though they are actually married, and even though everyone looks at them like they are married, and even though they are pretending to be a married couple, they just consider each other friends. They don't look at each other as spouses. In their eyes, their relationship has not changed at all. So no, they aren't/weren't/won't be unhappy in their marriage. I hope that makes it clear to any who may have been confused.**

 **Although, maybe I should make it where they were not wed. This could be used as a way to explain why Ruby and Yang do not share the same last name. Hmm... What do you guys think? Wait, in the first place, does marriage even exist in the RWBY-verse? I'm almost inclined to believe it doesn't... but unless it's confirmed that it doesn't, I'll operate under the assumption that it does. So, what do you guys think, should they be wed or not?**

 **And no, Tai wasn't coming on to Summer.**

 **And no, Summer wasn't coming on to Tai.**

 **Anyways, next chapter will be up next week.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi. Um... Thanks for the favs and follows! I don't really have much to say, so on with the story!**

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It was exactly one day after they were married. They didn't hold a big fancy wedding. They didn't invite all of their friends and family. No, all they did was sign the legal documents. There was no ceremony at all. They didn't need one.

It was one day after the marriage, but the third day since Summer moved in. As you'd expect, there were several... awkward incidents. You'd think it would be normal to expect such incidents when you live with another person, but they never expected such things. You could say they were naive, but they simply didn't expect it to be this hard since they had lived together before in Beacon.

Well, anyways, it was one day since the marriage. Summer seemed to be settling into the role of a mother for Yang pretty well. Yang loved Summer too. She'd always smile whenever she saw Summer. And Summer seemed to genuinely love Yang as if she were her own.

Tai smiled as he watched Summer hold Yang high above her head, the both of them laughing loudly.

After spinning around a bit, Summer brought Yang down, holding her against her body. She looked at Tai, and as soon as their eyes met, she gave him a bright smile. However, instead of smiling back at her, he frowned. When she saw that, she dropped her own smile, replacing it with a puzzled expression.

"You alright Tai?" she asked, slight concern present in her voice.

Tai snapped out of whatever trance he was in, shaking his head before replying.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm fine." He smiled at her.

She eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds before smiling back at him.

"Okay," she replied, not entirely convinced he was telling the truth. She turned back to Yang and... "Well little Yang, do you want to help mommy find the cookies daddy hid?" Yang looked at Summer with a huge smile, and gurgled in response. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Good luck trying," Tai scoffed with an arrogant look.

"You couldn't hide them from me when we were at Beacon, and you won't be able to hide them from me now."

"Ha! I've learned a lot since then, Shorty!" He folded his arms and stared at her challengingly.

"Shorty!?" Summer was taken aback by the long forgotten nickname. "You do remember what happened all those times you called me that, right?"

"I'm not worried." Tai put on a proud look. "You can't do anything since you're carrying two children." She puffed her cheeks at that.

"Come on Yang, let's go find those cookies." With a, 'Hmph!', she turned away from Tai. She went off, with Yang in tow, to find the hidden treasures.

He watched her fleeing form, the smile that hung on his lips now replaced by a frown. He let out a long sigh and shook his head, going back to what he was doing.

* * *

There was a crunch as Summer bit down on the cookie. Her and Tai were sitting on the couch, him eating a cookie with a look of defeat on his face, and her eating several cookies with a look of triumph on her face. Needless to say, Summer found the cookies and was now indulging herself in the spoils of war.

"Don't feel bad Tai, I'm just really good at finding sweets."

"Please, we both know Yang was the one to lead you to them."

"I'll admit that she did help, but most of the work was done by me."

They looked at each other with a smile. However, as soon as their eyes met, Tai once again frowned. Summer took notice of it.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He turned his head away from her and softly replied...

"Nothing."

"Hmm." Summer turned her gaze away as well, humming in suspicion.

All of the sudden, a thud brought their attention to baby Yang. It was pretty late, and they knew she was tired. As a result, she fell flat on the floor, completely asleep.

The both of them chuckled at it.

"I'll go put her to bed." Summer said, getting up and walking to Yang.

She picked Yang up and started on her way out of the room.

"Thanks," Tai said as she left. She gave a small nod and a quiet hum as a reply.

Tai was frowning as he watched her leave.

When she returned, she plopped down on the couch right next to Tai, sitting next to him as she had been earlier. She let out a long, quiet sigh.

"These past few days have been really fun," she said with a grin.

"Yeah." Tai leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. He kept his face straight down, concealing his expressions from her.

"I'm glad we did this." She leaned back, fixing her eyes on the ceiling.

"Yeah."

"This has been really fun."

"Yeah."

"I'm really happy." She expected him to agree, but instead...

"Don't," he said softly.

"Huh?" She looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Don't," he repeated.

"Don't what?"

"I can see it." He lifted his head, fixing his gaze into her eyes. "Every time I meet your eyes, I see the tears you're hiding in them. Every time I see you're smile, I can see it's just a mask. That behind that smiling mask, you're really screaming in pain."

She forced another smile, "I don't know what you're talking about, Tai."

"Stop it. I can see it... because I've lived it." At his words, the mask she wore slowly started to fall off.

"Tai..." Yet, despite his words peeling off her mask, she desperately clung onto it. She kept her forced smile on her face, but the tears in her eyes were impossible to hide now.

"Don't hold it back in front of me." The tears in his eyes as he spoke... at that... her mask shattered.

"Tai..." Her face slowly twisted and contorted, expressing the pain she felt inside. "Tai..." The tears she held in her eyes finally started to flow out. "Tai... it hurts so much..."

He pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her small body.

"I know it does," he said softly. "You don't ever need to hold it back in front of me." She released sobs into his chest after he said that.

That night, Tai held her as she cried.

That night, Summer fell asleep in his arms.

That night, Tai held her till morning.

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 **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I feel like I'm being really cheesy with this story, but I hope you guys are enjoying it nonetheless. (Interesting fact, 'Nonetheless', is actually three words, 'None the less', combined into one. The earliest known use of the word is 1533 (Sub fact, 'Nevertheless', is said to be more popular))**

 **Anyways, next chapter in five months. Be patient until then, my readers!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yeah, I was kidding when I said five months. Chapters will be posted on a weekly basis... unless some unforeseen event takes place. Anyways, wanted to let y'all know, this is a pretty short chapter.**

 **And, I want to thank all of you for the favs and follows.**

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Tai sat up on his bed and stretched his arms with a yawn. He looked at the bed several feet beside his own to find that it was empty.

"I guess I woke up late, huh?" He rubbed the back of his head as he muttered to himself.

It couldn't be helped. He was busy the night before, and as a result, he got to bed late. Well, it wasn't like he needed to be up early this morning, so it was fine if he slept in a little.

He threw his feet off the side of the bed, standing up when his feet made contact with the floor. He walked over to the small crib near the front of the room. When he arrived in front of it, he looked inside to find baby Ruby sound asleep. He smiled. It would appear he wasn't the only one to sleep in. Baby Ruby was about five months old now.

'It's already been a little over a year now, huh?' he thought.

In the year him and Summer lived together, there were, as mentioned before, awkward moments. It took some time for them to adjust. But while there were some awkward moments, living together brought them closer together. They formed a deeper bond than they already had with each other. They began to rely on each other more. And even though they were only friends, it actually felt like they were a real family.

'A family...' he thought. 'This isn't so bad.'

He turned around and walked away from the crib as he undid the buttons on his pajama shirt. He started changing out of his pajamas and into his clothes.

The cabin in which they lived only had two bedrooms. His and Yang's. As they planned to act like a happily married couple in front of their children, they decided Summer should share a room with him. She did, however, have her own bed. That just left a need for Ruby's room for once she grew older. They thought about having her and Yang share a room, but decided it would be nice for both girls to have their own room. Thus, it was decided that a previously unused room would be fixed up into an extra bedroom for her.

He had finished getting dressed. He cast one more lingering glance at baby Ruby fast asleep, smiling at the sight. He then opened the door and left the room. His destination was the kitchen, as that was where he heard laughter originating from. When he walked in, he saw Summer and Yang sitting at the table playing with each other. He couldn't help smiling at the sight.

Summer and Yang took notice of him and turned their focused their sight to him.

"Look Yang, daddy finally woke up." she said, smiling at him.

'She really does have the most beautiful smile,' he thought. It took a second before he realized it, but when he did, he froze, eyes going wide. 'What did you just...? You're heart belongs to Raven!' he mentally scolded himself. 'But Raven left you...' his brain reminded him.

"Tai?" Seeing the frown on his face, Summer raised a brow.

Her voice brought him out of his head.

"Ah, sorry. I'm fine." He scratched the back of his head as he quickly apologized.

He turned around, about to walk away. But before he could move, Summer...

"Aren't you going to eat?"

He turned his head to her as he gave his reply, "Nah, I'm not hungry. I'm gonna go for a walk to build up my appetite."

"Okay..." She didn't quite believe him.

When he left the house, he started off in the direction of the nearby forest. However, after he entered said forest, he took shelter behind a thick tree. He was still close enough to the house that he would have line of sight of it, but the tree kept him out of view should anyone look out a window or something. Of course, it kept the house out of view for him as well, since the tree was positioned directly between him and the house. If he wanted to see the house, he would have to poke his head out.

He leaned his back against the tree as he thought. Right now, he was thinking of something he wish he wasn't. He was thinking of Raven. This was all because of his stupid brain bringing her up. Of course, his stupid brain only brought up Raven because stupid him thought stupid things about Summer.

He groaned. He was so confused. Summer was just his friend. He didn't have any feelings for her. Besides, he was still in love with Raven, right?

'But Raven isn't here.' He clenched his fist, slamming it against the tree. 'She left you. Abandoned you.'

His body slowly slid down until he was sitting on the ground, his back pressed up against the trees. There were small tears in his eyes as he thought of her, but he held them back. He didn't let them fall.

'She broke you.'

His body trembled. He buried his face into his hands.

"She really did break me, huh?" he whispered, choking on his words.

All of the sudden, he felt a warm hand touch his shoulder. He looked up. He saw Summer kneeling right there in front of him. She wore a sad smile as she watched him.

"Ah, Summer!" he suddenly exclaimed, trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes before she could see them. "I... I was just-"

However, before he could finish, she pulled him into a hug, holding his head against her shoulder.

"Don't," she said softly.

"Summer...?"

"Don't hold it back in front of me. That's what you told me back then, right?"

"Summer, I-"

"Well, the same goes for you. Stop holding it back. Otherwise I can't help you."

He buried his face into her shoulder, releasing sobs. He couldn't help it. The pain he felt from the cut Raven left on his heart, crying was the only thing he could do for it.

'It's my turn to hold you while you cry.'

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 **A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I especially hope you're all enjoying this story as a whole.**

 **So, are you guys excited to see where this story goes? Then come back next week for the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey! Sorry this is coming out a little late. I'm gonna be honest with y'all, I literally forgot that I was supposed to post this. So that's why it's out late... Sorry!**

 **And, Thank you all for the favs and follows :)**

* * *

Summer and Tai were standing on the porch, looking up at the bright stars.

Yang and Ruby were already fast asleep. They had given the girls each their own room, however, through a series of events, they found that the girls would cry all night if the other was not sleeping in the same room as them. And this wasn't the, 'silently crying themselves to sleep', crying, oh no, this was full blown, 'wake up their parents', crying. You can imagine the fun they had trying to figure out what it was about. The biggest hints they got were the attempts by three year old Yang to break into little Ruby's room. As such, both Yang and Ruby shared the same room. It was better for everyone that way.

Yang three years old, and Ruby one years old. Tai and Summer had been living together for almost two years now, and the two had grown rather close in that time.

"Shooting star!" Summer exclaimed, pointing up at where she saw it.

Tai followed her finger, trying to find the falling rock.

"Where?" he asked.

"Too late, it's gone."

Tai grumbled when she said that. They had been out here for a while now and Summer was the only one to find any shooting stars. He was always, "Too slow", according to her.

"Don't worry Tai, you'll see one eventually."

"I'm starting to question whether or not you're actually seeing them..." he mumbled under his breath.

She placed her hand back on the railing. However, having not been looking, she accidentally placed her hand atop of his.

Feeling her warm hand on his, Tai let out a cough as his cheeks were dyed a slight pink.

Summer, her cheeks also coated in a pink hue when she realized this, immediately pulled her hand off.

The both of them took a small step away from each other after that moment.

They stood in silence for a few moments. Trying to get rid of the awkward atmosphere between them, Summer pointed up at the sky again, and said...

"Shooting star!"

"Where?" Tai asked again, following her finger... again.

"Too late."

"Oh, come on!" he shouted.

"Better luck next time." She grinned.

His cheeks were starting to change color again when he saw her smiling face. He quickly turned his head away from her.

"Yeah, next time." he muttered.

They stood in silence once more. Tai cast a sidelong glance at Summer. She was looking up at the stars with that beautiful smile of hers.

'I'm going to say it...' he thought.

"Say what?" she asked, looking at him with a curious expression.

"Eh! Did I say that out loud?"

"Yeah," She lightly nodded. "So what is it you're going to say?"

Tai gave a small cough then cleared his throat.

"Summer I..." He stopped.

"You what?"

"I..." He paused, trying to find his words. After a few seconds of silence, he.. "Nevermind, it's nothing."

She furrowed her brows, watching him suspiciously for a few seconds.

"Okay..." she said, going back to looking at the sky.

'This... just being like this is fine, right?' he asked himself. He turned to look at her. Was just staying like this really okay? "No," he stated out loud.

"Hm?" Summer turned back to him again.

"Summer," He looked her in the eyes, "I'm in love with you!"

"Huh?" She tilted her head. Her brain was still processing the sudden declaration. "You... You're..." And click. She gasped, "Y-you're i-in lo-love with m-me?" Her cheeks turned bright red. "W-w-what are you saying?"

He instantly regretted telling her when he saw her reaction.

"I'm sorry!" he quickly apologized. "I should have known better! We're... just friends," He forced a smile. "Ah, I've made things weird now." He turned around and started back into the house.

"Ah! W-wait... Tai!" She followed after him.

"It's fine Summer, I get it. You don't need to say it." he said as he made his way to their room.

"Tai!" she called after him again.

He walked over to his bed grabbing his pillow and blanket.

"I'll take the couch tonight. It'll be weird for you if I stay in here, right? We can fix things in the morning, okay?"

"Tai, stop!"

With a long sigh, he dropped his pillow and blanket back onto his bed. He started to turn around... to face her. Maybe she would slap him or yell at him or something along those lines, he just hoped she wouldn't leave.

"Sum-" But as soon as he turned around, she pulled his face down and pressed her lips against his.

She pulled away, looking up at him with a smile, her cheeks still red. He stood frozen, eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

"Say something..." she said after the long silence between them.

"D-does this mean...?"

She rolled her eyes, "I love you too, Tai."

He smiled at her. She smiled back. He closed his eyes, leaned down, and captured her glistening lips with his own. Closing her eyes, she kissed him back. As they kissed, he pushed forward, lifting her off her feet and gently, yet quickly, lowering her back onto her bed. Mere inches separated their upper bodies from each other, whereas his waist sat between her thighs.

They pulled away and looked into each others eyes. They could see the desire within them. The desire to be as close to the other as they could.

A slight twist of his hips caused his lower torso to rub against her. A quiet gasp escaped her lips. A shiver ran through her body from the contact, causing her back to arch. He slipped a hand beneath her arched back, holding her body against his.

They stared into each others eyes, silently confirming there were no doubts. Seeing that there were none, the two pushed their lips together once more.

That night, they finally became a family.

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 **A/N: Let's end it here. I mean, you guys aren't interested in seeing (reading) them consummate their marriage, right? Well, even if you are, I don't want to write it. Actually, that's not exactly true... I** ** _do_** **want to right more, but I'll have to raise the rating on the story if I do that. I don't think I need to raise it with what was included... Do I? Besides, I think it's much better for this story if I don't write about their night together.**

 **So I hope you all enjoyed this incredibly cheesy chapter. It was... alright... Not my best, but it's still alright I think.  
**

 **Warning: Final chapter next week. Or maybe it should be called an Epilogue? Hmm...**


	6. Epilogue

**A/N: Here we are, my dear readers, at the final chapter. I'm thankful you followed me on this six chapter journey of blossoming love. I hope that this final chapter will leave you with the closure you need, as well as the heavy feels I wanted you to have (doubtful).**

 **Also, fun fact, the song I listened to while going over this is, "Everytime you kissed me", composed by Yuki Kajiura, vocals by Emily Bindiger. It was a complete coincidence, but after listening to it as I went over this chapter, I feel like the lyrics fit it pretty well.**

 **And, Thank you everyone for reading this story. I'm really glad you all stuck around and- hopefully -have been enjoying this. Thanks for the favs, the follows, and the review! Now let's get to the story.**

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"How are you doing today?" Tai asked.

No response.

"Are you giving me the cold shoulder?"

No response.

"Summer, don't you know it's rude of you to ignore me?" he asked, placing a hand on the small stone in front of him.

There was no response...

"I guess it's fine though." His eyes were filled with unshed tears as he spoke.

There never would be a response. Not anymore.

"Ah, you're probably curious about the girls, right? Yang's doing better now. She's finally accepted her cybernetic limb. She took off recently too. Ruby... she's still away... But our girls are strong, so I trust they'll be okay." He smiled.

He reached his hand up, wiping away a warm tear that escaped his eye. He briefly shifted his gaze to the sky, bringing it back to the stone in the ground a few seconds later.

"Hey Summer," his voice cracked as he spoke, "I really miss you..." The tears he kept in his eyes started to flow down his face, dripping onto the stone he was kneeling above. "I miss you so much."

He brought his hand over his heart in his vain attempt to suppress the pain.

"Summer, it hurts..." he sobbed. "It hurts so very much to lose you..."

He slammed his fist into the ground beside the small rock.

"I still don't get it! Why did it have to be you!?" He pushed his palms over his eyes, his fingers slipping into his hair. "Why wasn't I there? Why couldn't I protect you? Why couldn't it have been me?"

He felt something soft and warm brush his cheek, causing him to remove his palms from his eyes. With his blurred vision, he could almost see a person wrapped in white kneeling before him. Someone was here, but _she_ also wasn't.

She smiled at him. That smile he thought he'd never see again, it caused the tears to flood out even faster, and it brought even more pain to his heart. She pulled his head into her chest, holding him as he cried.

"This is cruel of you." he whispered.

She held him silently.

"It's so cruel of you."

Still, she stayed silent.

"But it's also... very nice." he sobbed.

As he cried into her chest, it was almost as if, within the wind, a familiar voice whispered to him...

"Don't hold it back anymore."

With those familiar words, he let out all the pain he had been holding within his heart.

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 **A/N: The end. I hope you all enjoyed this story. I also hope you guys found this sad... I don't think I'm quite at the level yet where I can write sad things. I'll probably get there eventually.**

 **Now, I ask, was this the spirit of Summer Rose, or was it the hallucinations of a broken man? Was this her comforting him, or his imagination torturing him? I want for all of you, my dear readers, to decide for yourselves whether or not this was Summer. You can give yourselves a bittersweet ending by saying it was her, or you can break your hearts further (if it was broken to begin with) by saying this was all within his mind. Of course, there are probably some of you who will find it more sad if it actually were her. Anyways, I leave it with you all to decide for yourselves what is what.**

 **And what is it that I've decided for myself? Well, I think it's best for me to keep that to myself. But I will say this, I don't think spirits of the deceased are a thing in the canon RWBY-verse. But you know... this isn't canon, so...**

 **I'll be going now. It has been a fun journey. Goodbye.**


End file.
